Never Surrender
by FiresFromOurHearts
Summary: What if Regulus Black was sorted into Gryffindor? How much does that change? The answer, it turns out, is pretty much everything.


**Title:** Never Surrender – from Kids in the Dark by All Time Low

* * *

Sirius Black comes back from Hogwarts with promises of owls and friends in the forefront of his mind. He returns to the house that's on the edge of something. Sirius spends most of his time talking to his friends, but sometimes he revels in telling stories to his younger brother, Regulus. Their mother screeches and yells when she finds up, but Sirius' heart belongs to a red-and-gold house and friends who share the same house. Sirius toes the line but doesn't quite go over it. He might be a Gryffindor from a Slytherin family, but for all their arguments and fights, they're still his family, and his little brother still lives at home.

* * *

Regulus goes to Hogwarts with a stern warning from his mother to be in Slytherin, but also with grey eyes and a fierce smile. Regulus sits upon the stool with the Sorting Hat on his head and these things in his mind. His eyes lock with similar ones at the Gryffindor table like a challenge and he's flooded of eleven years' worth of memories where his brother has forever protected and shielded him and he has done likewise, if only from the shadows.

The Sorting Hat scans the top of his mind. _You would do well in Slytherin,_ it tells the boy.

 _I know,_ the youngest Black responds. He thinks of cunning and ambition and the power he's meant to gain, according to his mother. He thinks that he could come to love Slytherin, and his classmates and family within the house.

Before the old Sorting Hat speaks aloud, it recalls another boy with black hair and grey eyes and a fierce will to protect. That boy could've done well in Slytherin as well, it knows. It digs deeper into Regulus' thoughts.

For his part, Regulus takes memories of cheerful grey eyes and loud smiles; he thinks of safety and refuge, bravery and protection. He thinks of manipulating his parents to stop the more serious punishments.

The Sorting Hat looks at this boy of eleven years who could do well in Slytherin; it looks and sees a core of steel wrapped around a steady beating heart that beats to a rhythm of _myfriendsmyfamilymypeople_ and it thinks that this could be the start of something big.

The rip opens up and the Sorting Hat shouts, "Gryffindor." The hat is whisked off the boy's head, and Regulus stumbles to his legs and walks over to the house of red-and-gold. There's complete silence and he can see his cousins decked out in green and silver with expressions of anger mixed with surprise.

Then, from the sea of students, a single person cheers and stands up; like a flower rising amongst the grass. Sirius Black beams from ear to ear, as he watches his brother join his house. He gives his brother a hug as he sits down, but they both know their trouble is only beginning.

* * *

Regulus never receives a message from his parents, not even a howler like Sirius. To those who weren't from a pureblood family, they might've thought this is better, but it is worse. It spoke volumes of rejection; it is a sign showing that Regulus isn't as important as Sirius and has always been second best, second born, the backup heir.

For the first few weeks, Regulus doesn't speak. He had never expected to be anything but Slytherin, and the Sorting Hat had even admitted he could be in Slytherin. However, Regulus finds himself donned in red-and-gold and caught between thoughts of _myfaulthateduesless_ and _finallyfreeIcanbebrave_.

Sometime during those initial weeks, McGonagall pulls Sirius aside for a talk. It's obvious she knows things aren't great for either Black, but she never expected Regulus' reaction. "Maybe he could be resorted," Sirius offers, knowing that despite how grateful he is to have his brother in his house, it might be for the better.

McGonagall shakes her head, "We can't do that," she says. Before Sirius leaves, she asks him to leave a tin of biscuits by Regulus' bed. Sirius does so, but only after taking a few.

* * *

It's surprising who manages to get Regulus to talk. Lily Evens wraps an arm around him. "Mudblood," he sneers after a second, and she laughs at him.

"I've heard you're at the top of your Transfigurations course," she tells him. "Doesn't surprise me. Your idiot brother is too, and I don't know how since he's a good for nothing."

Regulus gives a small smile, "Yeah he is, isn't he?" He says very quietly. It's the start of something, but not what the Sorting Hat knows will come. It's after this, that Regulus finds someone to go to every time he's hexed in the corridors by 'well-meaning' cousins; people he won't hex back because they're _family_ and for all that Regulus is a Gryffindor, it's something that's still important to him.

* * *

Peter's the first to invite Regulus to help with a prank. For all that they're good at Transfigurations, it's Potions that they expertise in, and Regulus is one of the best. "How would you turn Slytherins green with a potion?" Peter asks, sitting across from Regulus.

Regulus looks up with a frown, protests rising to the front of his mind. However, among memories of cousins and family decorated in green and silver, there are more recent memories of hexes and curses and words spitted in hatred, "An extract of Gillyweed might be your best bet," he says slowly. "It can cause green skin and gills."

* * *

The Marauders celebrate a successful plan with butterbeer that the House Elves nicked from Hogsmeade. Regulus, although quiet and slightly withdrawn, is pulled into the celebration. Sirius offers a butterbeer to Regulus who ends up falling asleep in the Marauders' dorm. It's the start of a new routine.

* * *

Sirius and Regulus spend their holidays at Hogwarts, but for Christmas, they're invited to the Potters, and they go. Regulus, forever shy and in the background, finds himself another place of refuge; meanwhile, Sirius finds himself living in a home with a family and both of his brothers, whether they're related by blood or not.

* * *

When the Black brothers return home, the household has fallen over that edge of 'something' and dived right into a turmoil of raging emotions and betrayal. Sirius faces the brunt of his parents' rage, which he's fine with and accepts, sometimes prompting them to look at him instead of Regulus.

Regulus is treated with absolute silence. It kills him on the inside, and it's a betrayal he saw coming but had hoped wouldn't occur. He awaits with unusual impatience to return to Hogwarts, to return home, to a place where he's got friends and warm arms and hugs, which is something new and different but wonderful. It eases him, knowing he has something to look forward to.

* * *

When the Marauders decide to become Animagus, there's not four of them but five. James Potter is hesitant when they start working, but Regulus clever and sharp of mind manages it first. They're all surprised when he's a fox. Regulus laughs and rubs it in Sirius' face, who had been saying the younger boy would end up a lion.

Remus is still surprised when his four best friends show what they've done to him. He appreciates each of them for all the work they did, and connects with them in different ways. Regulus and Remus bond over an understanding of what it's like to feel so separated. He remembers at from Sirius' sorting, and how he felt stepping into the halls of Hogwarts knowing what he is.

* * *

Sirius still runs away, and the Potters still take him in. However, this time round there's a younger brother still following; someone who Sirius still protects and still seeks refuge and safety, bravery and protection, but also wants to do his best and protect his friends. It's with the Potters, that the pair finally feels the safest they have in a long time, because, despite Hogwarts being almost like home, there's still danger lurking in the hallways.

* * *

As the Marauders prepare to leave school, Sirius hovers around Regulus, terrified of leaving his brother on his own. However, Regulus does all right. At the behest of Dumbledore, he befriends those in Slytherin – and the Sorting Hat's words echo in his head – for information.

Regulus becomes sort-of friends with Severus Snape and other Slytherins. It's because of this, Regulus becomes more aware of the growing tensions in the outside world, and minor fights breaking out. He uses all his cunning and everything he knows about manipulation to learn about the one who's 'Lord Voldemort'.

* * *

At the age of seventeen, Regulus turns into a fox when no one is looking and follows an unsuspecting Lord Voldemort to a cave. The youngest Black discovers a secret unlike anything he has ever known; it disturbs and horrifies him – he tells no one but Dumbledore.

Dumbledore doesn't tell anyone, but he works diligently. A prophecy is still heard, but it's slightly different to what it could've been once.

The Potters still have to into hiding. Peter offers himself as Secret Keeper when Sirius brings it up, but just before the spell is performed, Regulus takes Lily and James aside. He offers himself as Secret Keeper – and this is him protecting Sirius – and tells the pair, "I'll stay as a fox. No one will ever know."

Accusations are made as the Order of the Phoenix starts facing difficulty; almost as if their movements are known _before_ they're performed. Sirius suspects Regulus is the spy, because he's disappeared; it hurts him to think such a thing, but it makes sense.

* * *

There's still a prophecy, and still a power the Dark Lord knows not. It's not love and sacrifice interwoven with magic, because Regulus hasn't asked anyone to die for him, and he hasn't died for anyone. He's still young, but he's also a Gryffindor who could've been a Slytherin.

Regulus calls upon Fiendfyre and destroys a ring and a locket. Dumbledore finds a lost diadem and destroys it with his own magic. It's a fox that kills Nagini; a fox with the cunning of a Slytherin and the ambition of one, the bravery of a Gryffindor, the cleverness of a Ravenclaw, and the determination of a Hufflepuff.

It's a young Black who befriends his cousin, who quietly and carefully tells her of a single soul split and a search for immortality. It's Narcissa Malfoy – who is still a black, who understands the importance of family. She steals away a diary from her husband's possession, and gives it to Regulus who swears to keep her husband out of Azkaban. It's Narcissa who comes up with a daring plan to steal from Gringotts, although it's the work of Regulus to create such a potion.

In the end, it's through two siblings who understand family that Helga Hufflepuff's Cup is destroyed, the final Horcrux defeated.

It's the work of two years, two cousins, and an old wizard, that causes the Dark Lord to be mortal.

The power the Dark Lord knows not is love given unconditionally and a sibling's gratitude for protection given free. It's the power of stubborn determination and an ambition to back it up. It's in a family not of blood but of bonds and love.

The power that Voldemort does not understand is that which undoes him, and it's Dumbledore's power that kills him.

* * *

On the eve of Halloween, Sirius discovers Peter's deflected and duels him before knocking the Marauder unconscious. He finds the Potters are still safe and he doesn't understand why until Dumbledore appears to tell them that Lord Voldemort has fallen, for good.

Sirius is stunned and relieved because the war is over, and then he notices that trailing behind Dumbledore is a fox. The fox's shape wavers and grows and stretches, and then there's a nineteen-year-old who's a little ragged and thin, but still alive. Sirius hugs Regulus and swears to never let him go. Regulus hugs his brother back just as tight and swears to never let him out of his sight.

It's the end of the war and the start of what comes after.

* * *

Regulus first moves in with Sirius and Remus. He babysits the hyperactive Harry more often than not.

Sometimes Regulus will pause and wonder what would happen if he hadn't looked at Sirius during his sorting. He wonders what would have happened if the Sorting Hat hadn't thought to look beyond his surface thoughts. He wonders…

* * *

As the years grow and he finds himself needing something to do. He never really had much time on his hands, always seeking to be better, always looking for what came next, always reaching for his goal. Regulus is ambitious and cunning; it's why he would've done well in Slytherin.

Regulus returns to 12 Grimmauld Place, and he starts cleaning it out. Regulus speaks with Kreacher and they come to an understanding. They destroy dark objects and donate books to Hogwarts and other stores; they sell unneeded items and create an end to the dark, oppressive atmosphere that had always existed. The dark colouring goes; it's replaced with red and gold, blue and bronze, green and silver, and yellow and black.

A home is created, for kids who need a home for the holidays or need to escape an abusive household. It's a home for kids who need to leave their family for a bit of time to get away from their opinions. It's for squibs and wizards and wizards. It's for everyone who needs it.

It's a place of safety and refuge. There's bravery inscribed into the patches of black where something cursed once stood. There's ambition slaved into the floorboards, which were scrubbed until they could be scrubbed no more. There's acceptance exhibited on the walls that have every house colour. There's determination written all over the house in a comparison to what it once was.

* * *

It begins with a brother who isn't quite ready to let go of protection readily offered and protection given secretly. It begins with a brother who will always think _myfriendsmyfamilymypeople_ first. A war ends because of an adult who knows family can be found in trusted friends and loyalty and love. A war ends because of a cunning, ambitious boy who wanted to protect and be brave.

This ends with Regulus having a goal fixed in his mind and a love held in his heart. It ends with a boy who became a man during a war between secret conversations and carefully controlled dark magic.

This ends with Regulus having four children at 12 Grimmauld Place. It ends with Harry having loving parents. It ends with Sirius and Remus still living and still talking to each other. It ends with Death Eaters locked away but a family not torn apart.

Regulus still has his mind fixed on his ambitions and more room in his soft heart for new family members. Regulus now has children to look after, despite them not being his own. Regulus still has a brother and they still love each other. Regulus is still telling everyone he could've been a Slytherin; he's still protesting that anyone can be anything no matter their Hogwarts house.

Above all, Regulus still loves and can find family wherever he looks. This is the power the Dark Lord knew not.

* * *

A.N

Title comes from Kids in the Dark by All Time Low

I saw a tumblr post regarding what if Regulus had been sorted into Gryffindor, and this just grew (and yes it's based off that post quite a bit, it just goes into more detail - if the person who wrote the post doesn't want this up, I'll take it down, but I wasn't able to find them as the post I saw was on Instagram). I wanted to write this, and so I did. I didn't expect the ending, but I found it worked quite nicely. Hopefully, someone likes this!


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